Recently there have been increased efforts to reclaim aluminum cans, such as those used for soft drinks and beer. At reclamation distribution locations the cans are crushed or flattened to reduce the volume for shipment. The can crushers, as used in the past, have comprised a large rubber-covered drum that cooperates with a rotating steel drum having angle-shaped blades. The cans are introduced into the area between the drums and the angle-shaped blades move the cans into the nip between the drums to thereby crush or flatten cans.
The can crushing apparatus as used in the past, has several disadvantages. Due to the use of the rubber covered drum, the crusher cannot be used for crushing glass bottles, or other sharp materials. Furthermore, dinner plates of aluminum tend to jam in the crushing mechanism. Also the final crushed can flatness is limited by the resiliency of the rubber drums.
The conventional crusher is also designed specifically for cans of the size of the normal soft drink or beer can and cannot accommodate larger-sized containers made of aluminum.